Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Anxiety, Depression, And Fear Of Dependency In Middle And Older Adults, Darby D. Mackenstadt

Theses and Dissertations

Negative stereotypes of aging, such as dependency, tend to paint a picture of older adults as frail or a burden on society. This study aimed to explore the relationship between the Fear of Dependency Scale and anxiety and depression, evaluating gender, age, and physical health as moderators. Findings suggest that age moderated the relationship between fear of dependency and depression and anxiety in women, with middle-aged women reporting the highest levels of depression and anxiety. Similarly, poor physical health in women with high fear of dependency being related to higher levels of depression and anxiety. Fear of dependency was related …

A Mother’S Disenfranchised Grief: Pregnancy Loss, Madison Jones

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

Grief is unique to each individual and in the way it manifests socially, relationally, and physically. There are varying different types of grief and this paper examines disenfranchised grief specifically, miscarriage. Miscarriage, although prevalent, has been understudied in its approach for support and its impact on mothers. The current literature is examined to highlight counseling considerations and approaches to support for this population. Limitations in the current research are identified as gender and racial minorities being understudied. Grief will be experienced by everyone at some point in their lives and counselors must be competent in appropriately supporting this entire population.

Dealing With Your Dragons: Counseling Through Dungeons And Dragons, Devon Howell

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

The purpose of this literature review is to explore the idea of using the game of Dungeons and Dragons as a form of group counseling in a therapeutic setting. A search of relevant literature was conducted to discover potential therapeutic utility and cultural aspects of this prospective methodology. It was hypothesized that while the topic might not be well researched, it will yield potential possibilities for therapeutic use. The research presents possibilities for different theoretical underpinnings; in particular, it offers a unique range of benefits to both the client (improvements to social skills, sense of community, and overall mental health), …

Exploratory Analysis Of The Attachment-Caregiving Scale And Its Association With Child Attachment Patterns, Robert Whelan

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

The assessment of child and caregiving attachment patterns produce data that can inform relational and family interventions. Currently, the supported and widely used methods of assessing these attachment patterns (observational and interview procedures) require extensive training and testing to use, making them less accessible to providers. Valid and reliable caregiver self-report questionnaires for attachment assessment, which generally require less training to interpret, have proven difficult to design in the past. The Attachment Caregiving Scale (ACS) is a caregiver self-report questionnaire that looks at caregiver attributions (i.e., to what do caregivers attribute their child’s behaviors and emotions). This exploratory study seeks …

Analysis Of Predictive Factors For Aggression Within Inpatient Psychiatric Hospitalization, Autumn N. Wild

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Aggression is a concern within inpatient psychiatric hospitalization. Previous research has turned to various methods of assessing aggression risk, including comprehensive psychometric risk assessment tools and analysis of specific dynamic and static factors. This literature has focused on predicting whether aggression will occur or not during a patient’s admission. The goal of the current study was to determine if various patient and hospital variables cited in the literature to be predictive of the occurrence of aggression would maintain predictive utility in assessing whether a patient would be aggressive once (Dependent Variable = 0; N = 158) or more than once …

Meet Them Where They Are: Investigating The Feasibility And Acceptability Of Artificial Intelligence-Avatar-Delivered Community-Based Psychological First Aid Programming In A University Setting, Sarah Ryann M. Fortner, Joshua Semko, Stefan E. Schulenberg

Honors Theses

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of implementing an Artificial Intelligence (AI) avatar to deliver Community-Based Psychological First Aid training (CBPFA) to undergraduate students in a university setting. College students report high stress levels, and chronic stress is associated with negative physical, mental, and academic outcomes. CBPFA may be an effective way for colleges and universities to provide students with psychosocial support; however, traditional models utilize in-person training, which may not be accessible on a large scale. The present study developed a web-based AI-avatar-delivered CBPFA training to provide an alternative training modality. The …

Examining The Relationship Between Misophonia And Depression, Mary Bishop

Honors Theses

Because research on misophonia is in its early stages, few studies have examined correlations with other disorders. Misophonia has been shown to co-occur with a variety of anxiety-related and mood disorders. Understanding the link between depression and misophonia is important because both disorders contribute to significant impairment in daily work, social, and role functioning. This study aims to examine the relation between misophonia and depression in a community sample, which would expand knowledge demonstrated by previous studies using clinical and college samples. We hypothesized that misophonia and depression would have a positive correlation and that women would experience higher levels …

College Student Depression Throughout Covid-19: Fall 2019-Spring 2022, Matthew Powless, Zachary Pilot, Valentin Bouvier, Elisabeth Brown, Mikaila Ealum, Lakota Iron Rope

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

The current study examined the trends in depression and emotion regulation for students (n = 899) at one university in the Midwest United States from prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (Fall 2019) through the Spring 2022 semester. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted, controlling for difficulties in emotion regulation and gender identity. The ANCOVA indicated that depression was significantly lower in Fall 2019 than in the remaining five semesters under investigation. Results of these analyses appear to indicate that depression rose significantly in students after the onset of the pandemic and implementation of social restrictions. This negative effect …

Feathered Friends: The Positive Effects Of Owning A Companion Bird, Nicole Lea

Psychology | Student Research Posters

Loneliness is an epidemic whose full impact is only recently receiving the attention it urgently demands. While many solutions are suggested, a time-tested remedy is a companion animal. People report as deep a connection with a companion animal as with the humans in their lives due to the pet’s unconditional love and consistency. While much research has been dedicated to studying companion animal-human bonds with emphasis on dogs and cats, little has been conducted on the less popular household pet, the companion bird, even though bird owners report that their pets show just as much unconditional love and affection as …

The Role Of Cultural And Expressive Arts Therapies In The Puerto Rican Diasporic Identity: A Literature Review, Melissa Clay

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Identity for Puerto Rican immigrants is a growing concern with the influx of migration due to numerous natural and human based disasters. This literature review will review Puerto Rico’s tumultuous history and the development of identity through history. Including the Taino, the influence of African slaves, The Three Root Model and colonization by Spain and the United States. Accordingly, this review explores culturally specific beliefs and culturally creative arts and how those can be used in healing practices through Expressive Arts Therapies. We will also consider the culturally sensitivities needed in further research on this topic and within current day …

Embodied Fatness In Boys: A Critical Phenomenological Study, Sean Leadem

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation was an exploratory study of experiences of fatness in boyhood using a hermeneutic phenomenological qualitative method. The author conducted in-depth, open-ended interviews with participants who identify as men and for whom fatness or related body-difference was an issue in childhood or adolescence to gather data on the meanings of fatness for boys and the men they become. Data analysis was organized around the existential dimensions of embodiment, temporality, and relationality. Themes emerging from this analysis included a) the discovery of fatness as ambiguous meanings mediated by others, b) fatness as a problem in a horizon that does not …

Sex And Gender Differences In Attention-Deficit / Hyperactive Disorder (Adhd): A Literature Review, Kaitlyn N. Blair, Min Young Kim

Research Day

Background:

The American Medical Women's Association (AMWA) Sex and Gender Health Collaborative identified the need for a concise factsheet for clinicians outlining sex and gender differences in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) as ADHD is underdiagnosed, undertreated, and frequently misdiagnosed in women due to lack of recognition of gender-specific presentation. AMWA's goal is to improve access and exposure to sex and gender differences in healthcare as few medical schools educate students on these differences. The poster summarizes the reviewed literature on the prevalence, diagnosis, referral for, prevention, clinical presentation, and treatment of ADHD with a goal to reduce sex and …

Exploring The Connections Between Craving, Depression, Sleep & Alcohol Use In Emerging Adults, Katie Moskal

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Alcohol use among emerging adults is a public health concern as it has been associated with negative consequences, such as accidental injury (Hingson et al., 2009). Given the negative consequences experienced for emerging adults, there is a need to identify factors contributing to alcohol use to determine ways to reduce these consequences. Poor sleep has been associated with higher alcohol-related consequences (Miller et al., 2016), and alcohol use has been associated with poor sleep (Goodhines, Gellis, Kim, et al., 2019), however there may be other factors contributing to this relationship, such as alcohol craving and depression. Higher alcohol craving has …

Sexism's Effect On Female Suicide Ideation & Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Through Body Surveillance & Self-Esteem, Caitlin Gregory

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Research has shown that women face an average of three sexist events per week (Fischer & Holz, 2010). These sexist experiences can present within domains of daily living, social media usage, workplace discrimination, psychological distress, and sexual objectification (Baires & Koch, 2020; Duggan, 2014; Oswald, et al. 2019; Perez, 2019; Rollero, 2013). Additionally, the literature has shown that types of sexist experiences can determine the severity of the impact on mental health outcomes, as benevolent sexism has showcased significant consequences on females’ self-esteem and body objectification and hostile sexism has been shown to impact selfevaluation and self-worth (Calogero & Jost, …

Agreement Of Psychiatric Diagnoses Within And Between Groups Of Mental Health Clinicians From Different Disciplines, Wade Mcguire

Dissertations

The development of therapy as a treatment option for mental health problems has led to the creation of different disciplines. Each discipline has developed its own conceptualization of classification and treatment of mental health problems. These conceptualizations have led to different areas of focus for each of the disciplines, specifically counseling, psychology, and social work. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether these areas of focus influence how each discipline diagnoses. For this study, data was collected by having clinicians provide diagnoses for three fictitious clients. The vignettes for the clients were taken from a psychopathology textbook to …

Addressing The Complexity Of Mental Health Care For Youth Experiencing Houselessness, Sarah Hamilton

Psychology Honors Projects

Children and youth experiencing houselessness have a unique set of mental health needs due to the traumatic experience of houselessness during childhood and the other adverse childhood experiences that often coincide with houselessness (van der Kolk, 2003; Wong et al., 2016). They face immense barriers in access to mental health care due to logistical factors as a result of their housing status and socio-structural factors (Krippel et al., 2020; Gallardo et al., 2020; Bradley et al., 2018). However, existing studies reveal a lack of evidence-based interventions for children and youth experiencing houselessness and a lack of insight from mental health …

Opinion & The Insanity Plea: What Can A Little Education Do?, Anna Raker

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The misconceptions regarding the insanity defense have often left bias rampant within the court room. Within this study, the goal was to understand the relationship between education via an expert witness and how it changes one’s verdict on a case where the insanity defense is used. Participants were given a vignette regarding the circumstances of an NGRI defense case, and then randomly assigned to a control video and a myth video. The control video talked about the circumstances around assessment, and insignificant details of the case, while the myth version discussed the common myths and misconceptions regarding the insanity defense. …

The Association Of Mindfulness, Passive Social Media Use, Social Comparisons, Fomo And Depression In College Students, Cody Weeks

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

There is mounting concern that social media use among young adults has contributed to the increase in depression in this population, particularly college students. Passive social media use (i.e., browsing or following behavior) has been linked to higher rates of depression and other mental health symptoms among college students. However, scant research has focused on factors that may be used to alter passive social media use and decrease depression, such as mindfulness. Thus, the current study aimed to examine 1) the association between passive social media use and mindfulness, 2) to assess the mechanisms by which mindfulness may influence passive …

Minority Stress Through Time: Sexual Minority Stress & Suicidality Across Generations, Jenessa Canen

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Research suggests that sexual minority populations are at a much higher risk for suicide than their heterosexual peers. The primary explanation for this disparity is minority stress theory. The theory of minority stress proposes that in addition to everyday stressors experienced by most people, sexual minorities experience additional unique stressors related to their sexual minority identity. Since minority stress theory was proposed in 2003, much has changed about how the United States understands and views sexual minorities. Theoretically, this should impact the way minority stress is being experienced, which may be seen by examining minority stress across sexual minorities of …

Religion And Ptsd In Puerto Rico Natural Disaster Survivors, Abraham Reynolds

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Religious coping can influence recovery from natural disaster trauma. Participants were recruited from a religiously sponsored university in Puerto Rico, affected by several natural disasters between 2017 and 2020, using an online survey. A significant relationship was found between negative religious coping and changes in mood and cognition, mediated by the effect of worthiness of self. Results indicate that negative religious coping may adversely influence an individual’s view of self and increase PTSD-related changes in mood and cognition. If clinicians only examine a client’s view of self, they may miss the influence of negative religious coping.